The Dare
by Accio Lauren
Summary: "That's a load of rubbish," Natalie insisted. "We'll find out, won't we," Terry smirked. "Looks like it's either Longbottom or your life."
1. Introduction

It all started with a dare. A dare that would change the course of Natalie Fargo's life forever. She and her fellow Ravenclaws were sitting around the fire in their common room. Natalie was the closest to the windows in her favorite squishy blue armchair, looking outside at the rolling mountains nearby. The Ravenclaws were playing a game of truth and dare, a game which Natalie never took part in. It wasn't that she never wanted to; it was that no one ever picked her. Natalie was not the most popular girl at Hogwarts by anyone's standards. She had one or two close friends, but everyone else steered away from her. In her five years at Hogwarts, she had only ever watched conversations and games progress in her common room, never making a comment. Even in truth or dare, she would not make a sound. She watched for a while during her first and second years. She would wonder why no one had ever chosen her before. She stopped minding once she realized that if you were dared to do something, you had to go through with it. That was the beauty of the magical world. One spell and you were at the mercy of whoever was holding the wand. Even in truth or dare, there were strict rules about following through and severe consequences if nothing happened. However, everyone seemed to always go through with their dares anyway.

So here Natalie was. Looking out onto the twilit grounds and not paying attention to the giggles and shouts from the rest of the group. She only looked around when someone prodded her with their wand. She jumped a bit, then turned around to ask how she was bothering anyone this time (the only time her peers would talk to her during a game was if she was blocking their sunlight, or if she was in the way of something they needed). Natalie raised an eyebrow and looked at Terry Boot, whose wand was pointing towards her. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"Natalie," he smirked. "Truth or dare?" Natalie bit her lower lip. She had never been asked before and had never even thought about an answer to this dreaded question. She chanced a glance at the rest of the group who were all leaning in, on their knees, towards her

"Uh..." she began. Luna Lovegood, who was sitting on her stomach on the floor, inclined her head towards Natalie.

"I think you should pick dare," she chimed in. "It's always fun to do something unexpected."

"With you Luna," Terry mumbled. "Everything is unexpected." Luna didn't seem to notice. She only stared dreamily at a dust bunny making its way across the blue and bronze rug underneath her.

"Well," Natalie started again. She decided to throw caution to the wind. "Sure. Dare." Terry's smirk grew even wider.

"Well seeing as we all know that you have a crush on Neville Longbottom-"

"Hey!" Natalie shot back at him, starting to blush. "No one ever said that…"

"I dare you to kiss Longbottom after Herbology tomorrow," Terry said after blowing off the previous interruption. The whole room "ooh'd" and grinned. Natalie's head turned to look at every smiling face in the room. Surely these people were out to get her. Just because she had helped Neville throughout Potions her whole Hogwarts career didn't mean she had a crush on him. Just because he had tutored her a few times in Herbology didn't mean that she wanted to kiss him. And just because she thought he was the cutest boy in the whole school didn't mean she wanted everyone to know.

"No," Natalie shook her head. "No way. I am not doing that."

"Oh, but you've got to," Padma Patil started to say. She sat up straight and looked around at her fellow Ravenclaws for support. A few nodded their heads excitedly. "If you don't, something terrible will happen to you!"

"What's that?" Natalie asked, unconvinced.

"Dunno," Terry noted. "No one's ever not followed through with a dare before." He leaned back against his elbows, preparing to dare the next person who came to call.

"I heard that your head will forever be infested with wrackspurts," Luna piped in, attention still drawn to the dust bunny.

"Or I heard that all your deep secrets will come out for everyone to hear," Padma continued. The more she spoke, the straighter she sat. Natalie was surprised that her back hadn't cracked yet.

"Someone told me that that's how the Grey Lady died," a second year quipped. Every head turned toward her. "She didn't go through with her dare and then she just...died!"

"That's a load of rubbish," Natalie insisted. She stood up from her chair, only wanting to take comfort in her Potions book. She didn't need to this.

"We'll find out, won't we?" Terry grinned slyly as she began making her way to the staircase leading to the dormitories. "Looks like it's either Longbottom, or your life." Natalie did not like those odds.

* * *

**A/N: Alright I've been working on this one for a while now, so the next chapter will be up (hopefully) soon!**

**Don't forget to write a review!**


	2. Chapter 1

The next day Natalie didn't know what she was going to do. She tried not to seem nervous or anxious during breakfast and focused her eyes on her oatmeal and nothing else. Even when the rest of her peers were staring at her and whispering, she didn't pay them any mind. Only once did she look to Terry Boot, who in turn, gave her a cheeky wink. Natalie groaned and looked down once more. It was none of his business who she liked and she certainly did not want the whole school finding out about her crush on Neville. She couldn't help herself, she wanted to kiss him. More than anything. She was just too terrified. What if he didn't like her back? What if things didn't work out? She would never be able to live with herself. This secret had stayed with her forever and she had always hoped to keep it that way. However, she seemed to have no choice but to give him that one kiss.

As the bell rang to cue the start of classes, Natalie scampered out of the Great Hall and down to the Herbology greenhouses. Her blue and bronze scarf was pulled up to her nose; it had snowed about four inches the night before. She began thinking about Neville. Her hands began to shake as she held her scarf tightly to her face. She nervously looked behind her to see if she could spot him coming out of the castle. She found him trudging his way through the snow and looking through his Herbology textbook. He seemed to be having a hard time picking his feet up with every step. He looked up from his studies suddenly and saw Natalie looking at him. He waved to her happily, almost freeing the heavy book from his grasp. Natalie blushed and then gave him a quick wave in return before turning her attention back to the greenhouses. How could she possibly get Neville alone after class? She remembered that he usually stayed behind to talk to Professor Sprout which would give her the perfect chance. How would she be able to kiss him? He was almost a foot taller than she was and that was a whole other obstacle in itself.

The greenhouse was mercifully warm. When Natalie opened the screened door a waft of steamy air met her face. She sighed happily and tore her scarf from her face. She unwrapped herself from the garment as she made her way over to her seat. She placed it in a neat pile behind her and took off her thick cloak. She folded that and placed it on top of her scarf. The rest of the students had done the same. Natalie then noticed that all the Ravenclaws in the class were standing in a corner, talking in hushed voices. Natalie couldn't help but feel as if they were talking about her and what she was supposed to do in an hour. Padma looked over at her and gave her the thumbs up. Natalie looked down at the floor, beginning to feel her cheeks turning pink. Her face shot up when she heard a bang from the door of the greenhouse. Neville had burst in and dropped his books. Papers had scattered all around him. A few quills had found their way under the many tables in front of him. The whole class sniggered. Natalie was the only one who walked over to help him. She and Neville had that sort of relationship. They were both outcasts of their Houses to some extent. The outcasts had to stick together. Natalie picked up some papers that were strewn about the floor. She ordered them in a neat pile and handed them back to Neville.

"Thanks, Nat," Neville said, trying to catch his breath. "I'm not late, am I?"

"No, you're fine," Natalie replied just as Professor Sprout walked into the greenhouse.

"What're you two doing?" she asked merrily and sidled her way into the room. She pointed her stubby wand at the door behind her and it closed with a snap.

"Just picking up my books," Neville said, trying to get a good grip on them as they threatened to fall out of his arms again. Natalie grabbed a loose piece of parchment and put it at the top of Neville's pile of books.

"Well make your way to your seats. Class is about to start," Professor Sprout told them. Natalie nodded and walked over to her seat. She glanced over at Neville as he sat down across from her and couldn't help but take note at how cute he looked in his scarf and earmuffs.

* * *

The whole class passed by in a blur. It seemed like one minute they were taking out their pots, and the next they were stowing them away again. Natalie's hands kept shaking whenever she would add soil into her old pot, which caused for a huge mess by the end of class. Professor Sprout asked her to stay after a few minutes once the rest of the class had gone so that she could clean up her seat without magic. Natalie sighed and thought about what would happen to her now that she couldn't go through with her dare. Was there an exception for excuses? She grabbed a rag from the storage cupboard at the front of the room and began clearing off her workplace. She was surprised when she spotted Neville began talking to Professor Sprout.

She picked up the pace of her cleaning, always keeping an eye on him. She would not let this stupid dirt and manure pile get in the way of her dare. Natalie glanced over at Professor Sprout, hoping that she was fully immersed in the conversation. Natalie hastily picked up her wand, waved it, and the mess was gone from the table. Neville said goodbye to her just as Natalie placed her wand back into her pocket. She rushed from her table, tossed the towel back in the cupboard, flung her scarf around her neck, threw her cloak over her shoulders without even bothering to button it, and waved goodbye to Professor Sprout before she completely booked it out of the greenhouse.

"Neville!" she called after Neville, who was already halfway to the castle. He turned around.

"What's wrong, Nat?" he asked once she caught up with him.

"Oh, nothing," Natalie said. She looked behind her to make sure that no one was near them. Everyone had apparently made their way inside the castle for lunch, their footprints leaving heavy trails in the deep snow.

"I just," Natalie stuttered. She began to nervously tug on her scarf. She looked down at it and took note at how well navy blue goes with bronze. "I just...wanted to thank you for...you know. Helping me with Herbology for these past 5 years." What a stupid thing to say.

"Oh, yeah," Neville smiled. "And thank _you_ for helping me with Potions. I wouldn't have been able to pass without you." Natalie returned his smile.

"Neville, there's something I want to give you," she finally blurted out. It was now or never.

"Give me?" Neville said, obviously confused. "Why?"

"I've wanted to for a while," Natalie admitted. She looked into his eyes, not really knowing what she was doing. She grabbed the front of his cloak and pulled him down towards her. She then closed her eyes and pressed her lips softly to his. His lips were slightly chapped, but she loved the feeling they sent down her spine. She pulled away slightly only to feel Neville place his cold hand on her cheek. He pulled her back to him and planted a sweet kiss on her lips. His hand slid off of her face and they stood up straight. Neville awkwardly scratched his back and Nat resumed playing with her scarf.

"I'll uh...see you later, Neville," she grinned and turned away from him, beginning to walk to the castle.

"Yeah. See you, Nat," Neville mumbled and stayed glued to where he was standing, not believing what had just happened.

Every eye from the Ravenclaw table was glued onto Natalie. She pushed the doors to the Great Hall open gallantly and glided over to her House table. She had a proud smirk on her face and seemed to be standing up straighter than ever. She took a seat next to Terry Boot and grabbed a turkey sandwich off of a nearby plate.

"Well?" Terry asked, his eyes wide.

"Well what?" Natalie asked. She wanted to torment him as much as she possibly could. She took a sip of the goblet in front of her. The hot chocolate danced across her tongue, burning slightly, but leaving a good sensation behind.

"Did you kiss Neville?" Padma insisted. Natalie took a bite of her sandwich and chewed as slowly as possible.

"I never kiss and tell," she sang and took another bite of her sandwich. She loved the groans and eye rolls that she got from her peers.

"I bet you didn't have the guts," Terry smirked evilly. Natalie glared at him. However, right as she was about to boast about her dare, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Neville standing there, wringing his hands.

"Hi, Nat," he said uncertainly.

"Hey, Neville," Natalie smiled pleasantly. "What's up?"

"I was just uh..." Neville hesitated. "I was wondering if you'd go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" Terry Boot's jaw dropped. Natalie delighted in it.

"I would like nothing more," she replied to Neville. Neville walked away from the table, absolutely beaming. Natalie turned to Terry and grinned a fiery grin. She then took another bite of her sandwich and sat in peace, with the rest of the Ravenclaws whispering about her upcoming date with Neville. She couldn't believe that this good fortune had all been the result of one stupid dare. Though, she could not help but appreciate the positive effects it rendered.


End file.
